Incomplete Block B will be developed into a medical college

Against the backdrop of growing public demand that the abandoned Assembly-Secretariat complex be put to productive public use, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday announced that her government had decided to house a multi-super specialty hospital-cum-medical college in the complex on the Omandurar Government Estate here.

Ms. Jayalalithaa told the Assembly amid thumping of desks by members that facilities in the proposed hospital would be comparable to those at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

Conceived by the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime, the Assembly-Secretariat complex project consisted of two blocks — Block A to accommodate the Assembly and offices of the Chief Minister and Ministers and six departments, and Block B for other departments.

Estimated to cost Rs. 1,092 crore totally, the project had other components. Its execution came to a halt after the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government, which took office three months ago, announced in June that a Commission of Inquiry would be constituted to go into the alleged irregularities in the construction. At the time of suspension of work, approximately Rs. 480 crore was spent on the seven-storey Block A of 97,829 square metres. Around Rs. 80 crore was spent on the 73,399-square metre Block B with eight storeys.

Reading out a statement under Rule 110, the Chief Minister said the hospital would come up in Block A and the medical college in Block B. The decision to locate the hospital in Block A, she said, was made with a view to putting the building, which now remained unused, to the benefit of the poor.

The proposed hospital will be thrown open to the public soon after carrying out suitable modifications to the building, appointing medical experts, nurses and technicians and procurement of state-of-the-art equipment.

The Chief Minister explained that the building — Block A — was inadequate to house the Assembly and 36 departments, which were now functioning at Fort St. George. Its space was very limited and the design unfit for official work. The Secretariat could not be functioning from two different buildings. This was why the Assembly and the Secretariat were located at Fort St. George (again), she added.

Assembly Speaker D. Jayakumar allowed an exception to the rule by permitting floor leaders of various parties, including Panruti S. Ramachandran (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam) and A. Soundararajan (Communist Party of India–Marxist) to commend the Chief Minister for the move, which, the leaders said, would be extremely beneficial to the public.

They said there was some anxiety that the complex might not be put to use. However, the Chief Minister's announcement came as a relief. A member said the building had been “redeemed from a curse.”

Mr. Ramachandran accused the DMK government of conceiving the new project for “empty publicity.” But the present regime turned it into a project for a public cause, he said.

A super specility hospital is needed for a growing city like chennai. However, should we not see its viability, location etc. a place which was envisaged for the state secretariat, can it become a hopsital?

from:
ve.swaminathan

Posted on: Aug 22, 2011 at 17:23 IST

happy that Ms Jayalalaitha has accepted our suggestion of converting the new assembly building into A BIGGEST HOSPITAL IN SOUTH INDIA, to cater the needs of the poor,also speciality for treatment of diseases.But this need further huge funds to cater in the initial stages and thereafter, it may become self suffcieint.But, big philantherpist around india, can sponsor blocks in their name and also contribute their donation further,so that major portion of fiance is covered.THere are multination companies like ambaani, mittal, tatas and birlas,besides other recent well do rich corporate companies, who can also start their medical wing,int he new building to cater their own employees and also serve the public at large.Even today, CMC vellore cater the needs of international visitors,like this the new TAMILAND MEDICAL HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH UNIVERSITY,can expect to do best with the expert guidance from the medical industry.in the the days to come.lET US GIVE OUR HELPIG HAND IN THE GREAT TASK

from:
vidyaa

Posted on: Aug 22, 2011 at 11:22 IST

CM JJ's initiative regarding the conversion of the hideous mega structure that was supposed to be the house of governance into a super specialty hospital for the public is commendable but it's going to cost the exchequer a lot of money to restructure and modify the building as it was not intended to be a hospital. This project is going to be a tough challenge for the government. Wish her all success.

from:
Vyjayanthi

Posted on: Aug 22, 2011 at 10:21 IST

Its a good move by CM. She will deserve a token of appreciation for this. She really used this big building for some good and valuable cause.

from:
Venkat

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 18:52 IST

I think this is the best way to use the complex. Indians have long been waiting for another Medical Institute which would reduce the burden on AIIMS. And cater the needs of the South Indians by making them save the extra amount of money and valuable time on travelling (to New Delhi). I would personally congratulate the AIADMK government on this, and urge them to complete the conversion on a super fast pace.

from:
Krishna

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 18:27 IST

The increase in the number and size of the hospitals would indicate the growth of sickness among people.The increase in the size and number of police stations would reflect the increases in the crimes and the increases in the size and number of prisons would prove the development of criminals in society.A welfare government should look into these pictures and attempt to develop more institutions to make their citizens more and more cultured and healthy ones. Chennai would be celebrating its 300 th birthday.But we have have not read about so many hospitals,so many police stations and so many prisons in the early years.

from:
Seshachalam Gopalakrishnan

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 15:47 IST

I hope readers will remember because politician are in the habit of promissing the world but never deliver.Probably the building will be sold to relative for 1 ruppee.

from:
mahesh

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 14:38 IST

Legislative maesures to be taken to prevent the reversal of this buiding to secretriate during the next regime of DMK.

from:
dahsuon

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 14:28 IST

Nice thoughts and bringing a Hospital equivalent to AIMS Delhi, we can be proud about if it takes very good shape. Congrats to chief Minister for the thinking.

from:
Varatharajan

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 11:40 IST

Most thoughtful of the Hon C M of TN to have accepted the most valuable suggestion to put to use The new Secretariat building for a noble cause which will go down in history of tamilnadu.

from:
s.swamynathan

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 10:11 IST

Hospitals and educational institutions need to be designed from scratch to serve their purposes. One cannot retrofit an existing building unless one has a primary health center in mind - not a super specialty hospital. Moreover, has the government thought about the kind of traffic it will cater to and hence traffic flows, where will care givers and relatives stay, and so on? Will they go back to the original architects to do the retrofitting? Will the government promise not to waste the tax payers money in another venture to re-do this building and perhaps think about another new secretariat somewhere?

from:
C. Gopinath

Posted on: Aug 21, 2011 at 05:02 IST

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's announcement is 100 % correct and the building will help the poor people.

from:
sreekrishna.c

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 14:52 IST

The decision taken by Ms.Jayalalitha, CM, Tamil Nadu, to convert the new assembly builing into a Multi Sepciality Hospital for the poor is really good. Which is going tobe remebered for ever.

from:
T.GHANSHYAM

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 14:43 IST

This is the most suitable proposal. Hope we can see this is happening during the able leadership of Madam Jayalalithaa.

from:
Philip

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 14:16 IST

This is a wonderful idea. It will be better if the C.M advises all her ministers and govt. officials to use only this facility and not to go for private hospitals.

from:
venkatasubramanian

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 13:53 IST

More waste of public funds by a politician announcing projects that will never materlise. Media should list projects started or announced by ministers in the last decade. You will be surprised how much money has been wasted with no result.

from:
mahesh

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 13:52 IST

The Tax payers money being wasted by these politicians.At Salem Multispeciality Hospital being closed with some reason.Now,the New building constructed exclusivley for Administrative setup being converted to a Hospital. There is a fixed norms in constructing Hospitals and Medical Colleges.In India one person shouting against corruption and in Tamilnadu petty politics wasting the Taxpayers money.If the govt.really wants why cant they upgrade or construct new hospitals with in that vacant site at Omandurar Estate.Conversion of Assemby in Hospital should not another incidence like Kumbakonam School. There should be a limit to the political vengence that too not at the cost of Taxpayers money. What are they doing when they are in opposition parties? Why they have not given the suggestion of using as hospital instead of Assembly.The citizens of India were fooled by the politicians with tolerance.

from:
Natarajan Elangeswaran

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 13:32 IST

This is the best usage. Poor must get totally free treatment at this place.

from:
Sanjay

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 13:25 IST

Welcome move

from:
S.Babu

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 11:38 IST

It is a welcome move and should serve the Mission Statement of the General Hospital nearby, enunciated in the 17th Century. The Poor should get free treatment and the well-to.do should pay in a graded scale and the facilities could vary, the quality of the medical treatment remaining constant. Health Insurance schemes may be dove-tailed for subserving the larger purpose. Doctors should be made to behave like fellow-humans, coming down from God-like stances. The rehab as a hospital and college should be done by experts. One small model: Sankara Nethralaya in Wellington Complex. All info and accounts should be in public domain, from Day 1. The apex governing body may be headed by public-spirited persons like Mr.Ira. Sezhiyan and may preferably exclude doctors. A tutorial, drawing on the lessons - Good, Bad & Ugly - of the Coprporate Hospitals should be the starting point. I wish the Project well.

from:
Soundararajan Srinivasa

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 11:29 IST

It is wise decision on the part of the CM of Tamil Nadu to make the newly built secretariat complex into a multi and super speciality hospital on the lines of AIIMS and a medical college. This will revolutionise healthcare in Tamil Nadu and the poor people who now go to Delhi for specialised treatments need not go all that farther.

from:
KV Suryanarayanan

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 10:14 IST

It is a significant decision made by the TN Chief minister, All the money spent to construct the building was people's money, no need to spend such a large amount (1100 crore)to accommodate MLAs and other officials. Apart from the announcement the state gov must provide more attention to make it a international standard hospital.

from:
Ravi

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 06:37 IST

It is a tremendous pity that the New Tamil Nadu assembly building which got the honour of the first Green assembly / parliament building in the world and to be the largest certified Green government building in India is now turned into a Hospital. This is a clear intent to malign not just the image, but a true visionary intent of the former Chief Minister and his team. There can be no more insult to him than this.

from:
Prashanth

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 05:45 IST

Would be interesting to see whether it would eventually turn out to be an hospital with advanced facilities giving cheap medical services for the poor. But, did this decision have anything to do with the survey done by The Hindu a couple of days ago?

from:
Manish Kumar

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 05:44 IST

How much more money is it going to cost for retrofiting this into an hospital ? Jayalalitha has made a mockery of the discipline of Architecture and engineering. Architects are asked to build a government building and retrofitted to a hospital.

from:
bharathi

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 03:43 IST

There is now every possibility someone will now go to court. The matter will be stuck at the judicial process. There again the peoples money gone to the drain. Wasting public money for personal vendetta is also a form of corruption. Anna Hazare should first take notice of this. Let the Govt build a new Hospital, but not waste money in modification of this building.

from:
Karunakaran

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 03:42 IST

The opinion of a very miniscule number is branded as peoples opinion. A large number of readers have in fact suggested the use of this building for the purpose it was built. But the HINDU has very cleverly hidden and obsucred them by its biased and preconceived attitude. The people of Tamilnadu are really cursed. They now have to pay the Govt for the modification, only to be again remodified by the next govt. It is always wasteful to spend money on modifications than to build a new one.

from:
Karunakaran

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 03:32 IST

If the building is not good enough for a simple administrative building how can it be suitable for a medical building which requires much more care. Are the poor scapegoats? Do we really need another hospital on top of the revamped govt. hospital?

from:
Ashwini

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 02:26 IST

It is better such massive public structures are built after inviting public openions. It is amasing that `The Hindu' had received more than 1600 ideas for this building to be put into some beneficial use. Ofcourse instead of issuing notices or circulars by the state, it should also rope in both print and electronic media for this purpose. Umpteen 24X7 TV news channels must be put into for debating paying them liberally. Further,as this building is connected only by buses excepting for a nearby MRTS station, it is better to run free hospital special buses for the poor connecting all important locations of the city including central and Egmore stations till Metro and Mono rails are in place.

from:
R.Ganesan.

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 02:23 IST

You cannot all of a sudden convert 'any' building into a hospital (that too of the calibur of AIIMS). Even buildings that are custom built or utility built often face problems in a hospital setting. Few examples are emergency departments not connected to radiology facilities and so on and so forth. It requires a lot of meticulous planning and execution. Hosptial wards and OPD's should not be mere wall and floor but must be built and equipped for the specific purpose. Hope suitable modifications will be made to the existing structure rather than just dumping a few beds and calling it a ward !

from:
Dr. Manikandan

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 00:59 IST

What a terrible use of this building! How can a building conceived and constructed as an legislative assembly (with offices and meeting rooms) be transformed into a hospital which needs bathrooms in the the patient's rooms, plumbing systems to carry gases, liquids, hospital waste and high voltage electricity to name a couple of things. What is the use of designing the building with security features worthy of an legislative assembly. And why should any architect(or anyone who takes pride in his work) worth his chops sell his ideas to India where his work can be butchered and transmogrified. Would Raja Raja Chola have built a temple and then decide to make it into a wedding hall for the poor? Lack of vision, irrationality and populism makes India's claims of a future superpower laughable.

from:
Kal

Posted on: Aug 20, 2011 at 00:17 IST

Definitely not a bad idea at all; in this manner, the complex built at enormous cost will not be in disuse. And, more important, as it will be utilized as an hospital which will serve the poor, the oft-made motto of Anna, not Anna Hazare please, but Anna Durai, the former CM of T Nadu, that 'God, we shall see, in the smile of the poor' will come true.

from:
Jayaraman V S

Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 21:33 IST

Converting into a hospital is a noble thought, but I have my reservations. 1. There is not much place around to expand, which is crucial to for population and city like ours. 2. The location is the prime spot in the city can serve other equally noble purposes. 3. The spacious architecture may not be ideal for a hospital (just like the reason given for not being the Secretariat). Perhaps The Hindu should have given their survey findings to our CM sooner :)

from:
Siva

Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 20:36 IST

"Lacks aesthetic appeal"?! Good god.. its definitely an impressive building. While the idea of an AIIMS style hospital in Chennai is certainly good, are we going to spend a further few hundred crores to convert this building so that its capable of hosting a hospital? While I'm ok with the Secretariat staying at Fort St. George, can't we convert this public building into an Indian Smithsonian or Guggenheim with other blocks and rooms used for some govt. departments?

from:
Nirmal Kumar

Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 19:36 IST

After all those euphoria, it seems that the dust has at last settled down. However, the new idea for SS Hospital and Medical college seems to be ticking for the benefit of the people. Kudos !

from:
Haja Abu Bucker

Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 19:27 IST

This is a great decision from Mrs. Jayalalitha, I really appreciate the same. As a Govt. M. S. hospital this really help the poor peoples in the state. Many thanks for this initiative.

from:
Vipin T S

Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 18:20 IST

It is great to hear that redundant building will be used for Medical College and Speciality Hospital. It would be worth bearing in mind that all buildings are designed and built to funtion for the purpose for these were designed. Conversion to a different use is possible with some possible minimum cost alterations but to convert to a Speciality Hospital is expecting too much and may not help in the long run with unsuitable building design unless extra cost was no consideration. I would suggest that a panel of both independent reputed architects and engineers along with govt. medical education directors must examine suitability first and analyse these proposals and recommend their decision to the Government for the final decision.

from:
GPM

Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 18:18 IST

Utter nonsense. one govt trying to outdo the other. How can a building designed to be a secretriat be converted into a medical college and hospital. Is a circus tent ok for a hospital. Its not family property of any c m that he or she can ridicule the common man.

from:
ansari sherule

Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 17:39 IST

I congratulate the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. J. Jayalalithaa, for taking a very practical and pragmatic decision by announcing that the newly built Secretariat Complex would be converted into a multi speciality hospital and a government medical college. The hospital will richly benefit the poorer sections of the community not only belonging to Tamil Nadu but across South India, as the new hospital is expected to be formed on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. I am sure that the hospital would become a landmark of Tamil Nadu and a pride of Tamil Nadu. I am happy to note that crores of rupees spent on this project will not get wasted. The medical college will turn out thousands of doctors in various disciplines in the years to come and will alleviate the sufferings of the poor to a great extent.